Chuck grew up in northern California and graduated UC Berkeley in 1963 with a degree in mechanical engineering… and was promptly head-hunted by the Northrop Corporation to work on NASA’s Apollo Earth Landing program. He became head of the parachute recovery program for the astronauts’ return capsule, and his parachute design is still used to this day.
After the success of the Apollo landing on the moon, Chuck went on to design aircraft seating for the Boeing 747 and Lockheed L-1011 airplanes. Afterwards moving to Mill Valley, California, Chuck convinced his mother to turn her home into a transcendental meditation center, where he met his future wife Anna, united by their unique interests in the 1960s spiritual movement. They were married in 1971.
After receiving his contractor’s license, he began building houses together with Henry Larsen under the company name SCI Builders (later SCI Consulting), a partnership that lasted for nearly twenty years.
Eventually, Chuck went back to UC Berkeley to get his degree in structural engineering so he could further help people build and remodel homes all throughout the Bay Area for over forty years. He became an expert in forensic waterproofing expert for various homeowner’s associations and even served a number of terms on the Mill Valley Planning department.
Chuck worked as a structural engineer with his son Christian as his draftsman until the day he died. His work inspired him and kept him young. His life was full of projects and joy, and was loved deeply by his family and friends.
He is survived by his loving wife of 51 years, Anna Utzman, and their adult son, Christian.
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